Hit List

forty one | phony

I go out the back doors of the ballroom. I make sure nobody notices me slipping out, because I want to be alone.

I definitely need to get my shit together.

I'll admit it was a stupid plan trying to be friends with Elijah, but hopefully it will still work out. I'll let him live until Antonio's deadline, and then I'll get it over with and move on with my life.

I sigh and sit on the marble steps that glow in the light of the moon. I can't move on with my life after that because this job is never going to end.

The only way I can get out of it is by killing Antonio.

Although that will be almost impossible. The only person better at killing than me, is him. One wrong move on my behalf and it's over.

The last time I tried to defy him, I got screws pushed into my back.

Maybe I should just go for it. Either I kill him or I die, and that's pretty much a win-win situation at this point.

That way nobody else has to die, including Elijah. I don't care if they're bad people that deserve to be dead, I'm not a f*cking superhero that defeats bad guys.

I'm the bad guy. I'm the villain in my own story. I don't deserve a happy ending.

So it's decided. I am going to kill Antonio.

I look around when I hear soft crying sounds coming from somewhere near me. It is very possible that I am going crazy and there is actually nobody out here.

"Hello?" I say, hoping someone will respond. The crying suddenly stops and I hear them sniff. "Who is out here?" I ask, but they don't respond. "I can see you," I lie.

Alex stands up and glares at me. "What do you want?" she spits.

"Alex, why are you crying? It's your birthday, you should be inside having fun."

She rolls her eyes. "I didn't want this party, my stupid father did. I barely know anyone here. So stupid. It feels like everything is going wrong in my life."

"I'm so sorry, Alex. Not everything is going wrong. You have great friends and people who love you." I am only trying to comfort her because Jamie wants me to know her better, so I can't be rude or she will be rude back.

"Why am I telling you this? Why are you even here? I didn't invite you." She says the word 'you' with such disgust.

I frown. "Jamie said I should come so I can get to know you better."

"Don't act like you're friends with us. You're a phony. A fake. You don't belong with people like us."

"What? If anyone is a fake, it's you. I see how you act around Jamie. Do you even care about him?" Although she is right, I am a fake and my friendship with all of them is a lie.

"Of course I care about him! He makes me feel amazing and he is so sweet. I'm not sure if he likes me, though. I try to be better when I'm with him but..." She shrugs. "I've accepted that I'm a b*tch."

"I respect that." I laugh. "What makes you think you're better than me? Why do you not think I am worthy of being friends with all of you?"

"Do you really care about Elijah? I think you don't belong with us because you don't actually want to be friends with us. You look like an outcast and you don't try to be friends with anyone other than Jamie and Elijah."

Well, she's not wrong. Of course I'm not going to try to be friends with all of them. The only reason I even became friends with Jamie is because I needed Elijah's trust.

"Yeah, I care about Elijah. I care about him as a friend, and the same goes for Jamie. Maybe you're right, I haven't tried to be friends with anyone other than Jamie and Elijah but that's because I feel like they don't want to be friends with me."

"Sorry for pulling your hair. I know that was stupid and immature, but Jamie just kept talking about how you're so amazing and how you beat his ass an it was 'awesome'. I got tired of it and when I saw you, I... You know."

"It's okay," I say and smile. Maybe she isn't that bad. As long as she genuinely cares about Jamie, because I don't want to see him get hurt.

Stupid, lovable Jamie. I really hope he never finds out that our entire friendship was fake, because it feels real now.

Hopefully it is real now.

I decide to pull Alex into a hug. She is hesitant at first, but hugs me back after a couple of seconds. "You don't have to cry. Come inside and try to have fun. There's cake, which is never a bad thing," I state.

She laughs. "True. Thank you."

We walk back inside together and Alex walks to a few other people at the party. I make my way straight to the food.

This is probably why you don't have friends, Bree.

I shrug at myself and fill a plate with food, then stand to the side and eat as I watch people dance and interact.

Jamie comes up to me with a naughty smile on his face. "I saw you and Alex coming in together... Did you two talk?" I am about to say something but he keeps talking. "Or did you make out with each other? I'm fine with either. Just saying."

"That would mean we came out together not in together," I joke and wink.

He smiles and shakes his head. "I want to laugh but I can't because that joke was terrible."

"It was an amazing joke. But yeah, we did talk and she's not as bad as I thought. She really likes you," I admit.

Jamie pulls me into a hug. "Thank you for coming tonight," he says.

"Well, you kind of forced me into it. I didn't want to come, I just wanted your drugs—"

"Don't ruin the moment," he whispers in my ear.

I chuckle and pat his back awkwardly. "What moment?"

He sighs and lets me go, then lifts my chin to look into my eyes. He doesn't say anything. I stop blinking and he does, too.

Are we actually having a staring contest right now?

After a while my eyes start to water and I notice his do, as well. I will not lose to this numbnut. He blinks.

I step back and laugh. "I won!"

"Did you?"

"What?" I frown.

He raises an eyebrow and smirks. "What?"

Then he walks away. I shake my head. What just happened?

•<•>•

What?

T w i t t e r : xPineappleGirlx
I n s t a g r a m : laylaawrites
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